These five geezers from Australia and Britain had little to do with Satan Saturday night at Southern Star Amphitheater - surprise! - but they sure got down on some nasty rock 'n' roll on their "Fly On The Wall" tour that set the record straight as to who is and who is not in headbanging circles. A capacity crowd of nearly 20,000 proclaimed AC/DC as boss.

It was one of most uproarious shows of this outdoor venue's first season, which is scheduled to conclude after this month.

Now, Angus Young and his brother Malcolm - the two remaining originals after 11 years - are not the kind of blokes you'd want to show off to the relatives. But that's the point. The street urchin Angus, a skinny rat at 5 feet, is a sleazy low-down mean kind of guitarist. Malcolm is not much prettier. Vocalist Brian Johnson, who filled a difficult position in 1980 following the death of Bon Scott, is another shifty customer, his raspy pipes Saturday night crackling through the humidity.

This was their first Houston appearance in two years and their second with new drummer Simon Wright, who replaced Phil Rudd. And as usual Angus threatened to shoot the moon for a little outdoor ambiance on an extended version of "Jailbreak". I can only assume that he did, since deadline called me away halfway through the concert.

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This is not witty music, understand. This is the big beat and the big power riff and the screaming vocals all conspiring to make like a jet blast with melody.

But after so many campaigns - more than just about anyone else in heavy metal - these guys know each other's moves so well that they can indeed drop down into a boogie that shuffles out of the maelstrom and into some serious hard rocking. Their dynamics have been perfected to where they don't really require a theatrical act to get the deal across.

AC/DC has come under fire recently for their lyrics. But heck, who can understand them anyway? The guitar speaks louder, and that's all this young crowd came to hear. This band has enough bombast to make the music seem rebellious. And in metal that's all that really counts.